


Clarity

by Fantasy_Writer_Hina



Category: Avengers (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One Compliant, Slow Build, Slow Burn, takes place in between the first two Iron Man movies.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-02-29 16:31:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasy_Writer_Hina/pseuds/Fantasy_Writer_Hina
Summary: After the events of the first movie, Tony made it his resolve to turn his company around and find a better use for technology that had once been used to make weapons for the military. While working on his latest project one night, Tony gets restless and decides on going to a night club where he meets a girl with an unusual name.Catmint was just a waitress working a diner but when some of her work friends decide to drag her out to a nightclub, she meets the genius playboy billionaire Tony Stark, who somehow fails to charm her as he did with so many other ladies.Despite their rocky first meeting, Tony and Catmint feel drawn to each other and begin a casual friendship that would eventually bloom into romance. Over the course of their friendship turning into a romance, Tony suddenly realized that something was missing in his life and that something was her.





	1. Prologue

He sat there in the silence of his lab, the only sound he heard was the occasional whirrs of his two robot assistants, Dumm-E and U. The two said robots were off at the other end of the lab, doing whatever he had ordered them to do to get them out of his way for a while. But for some reason, Tony couldn’t focus on his work.  
  
“Well, that’s just perfect,” Tony Stark muttered. This was just the perfect time to hit a creative block. Ever since the mess with his father figure and former business partner, Obadiah Stane happened, there had been a strange irksome feeling lingering in his heart. And of course, this stupid piece of shrapnel that’s been lodged in his chest and despite the electromagnetic device being implanted and the ark reactor core powering the said device, Tony Stark still feared the small metal fragment piercing his heart. But he couldn't let anyone see this fear  
  
Despite all that, the billionaire refused all offers from all the best doctors in the world to surgically remove the shrapnel. It wasn't because he couldn't afford it, it was because of the fear of something going wrong during the operation. That was something he couldn't and won't ever admit to anyone, let alone himself.  
  
Sitting there, Tony hated these moments. The rare moments where he couldn't focus on his work and was left with nothing but his thoughts. He always hated them. There was something missing inside of him. At least it felt like it to him. But he couldn't figure out what it was.  
  
Up until A few months ago, he was on top of the world, living life to the fullest and without any fears. No worries, no sitting in this silent dark lab and being left alone with his darker more somber thoughts.  
  
"Mr. Stark?" Came an English sounding voice after an hour or so of complete silence. The voice sounded off from all around the room. It took a second time of the voice calling his name to get his attention, for the billionaire to be snapped out of his brooding thoughts.  
  
"Is there anything wrong, Sir?" The voice asked.  
  
Tony glanced at the holo-display before him. Designs for an armor upgrade was on display, but Tony just wasn't feeling it tonight.  
  
"Sir?" The voice started, as the inventor got up from his stool.  
  
"Jarvis, I'm going out so watch the house for me while I'm gone," Tony ordered as he started making his way to the lab entrance.  
  
"Can I expect you to bring back a female guest, Mr. Stark?"  
  
Tony stopped for a second, wracking his brain for the right answer. Normally he would say yes but only because it was the expected answer. But it didn't come to him. The man just shrugged.  
  
"Honestly I don't know. Maybe. We'll see." Tony finally said but as he took another step, his AI spoke again.  
  
"Sir, what about the project Miss Potts requested?" The AI asked indignantly.  
  
Tony stopped again but shrugged.  
  
"Tell Pepper I'll get right on it... Tomorrow when I get back," the man replied, "for now I'm on break."  
  
"Very well, Sir." Jarvis added, "Good night, Mr. Stark."  
  
"Night, buddy."  
  
With that said, Tony powered down all the displays, letting Jarvis power down for the night. He then walked upstairs to prepare for the night ahead.


	2. Chapter 1

The music was really loud and upbeat, making the atmosphere overwhelming, but he liked it this way. Usually the turbulent sounds and the fast paced atmosphere would drive the stressful thoughts out of his head. It made him forget the unsettling hole in his soul and heart that just grew after the events with Obadiah Stane. Tony Stark needed this relief very much, but it wasn’t coming.  
  
As he sat there at the bar, in his own little corner, Tony Stark couldn't help noticing the lack of businessmen around, and how empty it was. There would usually be a flock of young girls surrounding various playboy businessmen. The girls weren't lacking. Just his fellow millionaires. Tonight, there were just young drunken college studs trying to show off to the said girls.  
  
Tony just merely shrugged it off, his brown gaze traveling to a passing girl. The philanthropic billionaire just smiled lustily at a passing girl, receiving a shy, flirtatious smile in return. It was strange. He didn't much feel like picking up on the cute, sexy brunette that walked by, as intriguing as she was. He just wanted to sit here and chill.  
  
 _Am I sick?_  He thought to himself, but still, Tony shrugged it off and continued to sip his drink.even his drink didnt appeal to him. It tasted good, but it didn’t feel as exciting as it usually did. The drinik still gave him a little buzz, the more he drank of the alcohol, but it wasn’t all that enjoyable.  
  
A frown tugged at the corner of his lips. Even his drink didn't have any appeal to it. Is this what they call a rut?  
  
Sure he's been stuck on projects before but things were never this bad. A good romp and a good drink or two would be enough to get his muse back and Tony would be back in the saddle, ready to demonstrate yet another defense mechanism to the U.S. military, with promises of top-notch machinery and safety for the country. But tonight, he was just off his game.  
  
 _That's gotta be it._  the man thought sourly, placing his shot glass back onto the table. His mood was beginning to plummet even more now. Tony started to get antsy now as minutes passed. He was barely on his third glass of wine when something caught his eye.  
  
Sitting across the room in a booth were a group of three girls. Two of the girls looked like the type of girls he'd usually have a one night stand with. But the girl sitting in the middle appeared to be the opposite of the other ones. As a matter of fact, she looked like she was talked into coming to this place by her friends. And he could only guess that she was the designated driver for when her friends got drunk.  
  
"It could be worse," Tony muttered to himself as he watched two of the girls slide out of the booth and wander out onto the dance floor, leaving their friend by herself. Two guys walked over to the girl a few minutes later. He watched as they attempted to talk to the girl, but she ignored them. Tony chuckled at the defeated looks of the amateurs as they gave up in frustration and walked away.  
  
 _Amatuers._  the billionaire thought, but he had to admit, watching the two guys get shot down by an out of place girl made him feel intrigued.  
  
Deciding on making an attempt at conversing with her himself, the man downed the last of his drink, smoothed out his rumpled hair, and gathered the last of his wits before making his way to the lone girl.  
  
\--  
Catmint sat there by herself, ignoring the music and all the other people in the room. She didn't know why she was here. The bar and nightclub scene never appealed to her. In fact, it made her feel a bit nervous. Her friends dragged her out here (not completely against her will of course) with the promises of a fun girls' night out and maybe a new boyfriend. But it was all just an excuse to have her be the designated driver because Catmint wasn't a party girl or a drinker.  
  
She was just Catmint, an average young woman, a waitres, who did nothing but work and keep to herself. At least that's how she saw herself.  
  
As she sat there, taking the occasional sip on the water she had ordered, Catmint's brown gaze turned back to the phone she held in her hands. As she mindlessly scrolled through the e-book she was reading on her phone, a voice spoke from close by, startling her from her activity.  
  
"Do you often sit here all alone like this?”  
  
When she looked up she saw a dark-haired man, who she swore could pass himself off as a Tony Stark look-alike. After she’s heard a few stories of men passing themselves off as Tony Stark or some other rich celebrities, only for the girls they lead on to find out they’re not the real deals. Then those imposters would be shown up by the real deals, or just tossed in jail.  
  
But whoever this guy was, she'll just hear him out, humor him a bit then she'll just go back to ignoring him and the other guys that try initiating a conversation with her.  
  
Catmint just shrugged, casting a quick glance to her friends. Sarah and Lacy were flirting with a few half-drunk guys before dragging them out onto the dance floor. Catmint just sighed before finally shaking her head, her new acquaintance glancing in the direction she was just looking at.  
  
"Ah, let me guess, your friends brought you here with promises of a girl's night out and maybe you'd meet a nice guy or two, but instead you're the designated driving friend. I am correct, aren't I?" The man's word sounded a bit sarcastic but otherwise, Catmint could tell this man was just trying to make polite conversation.  
  
"Pretty much, I'm just the babysitter, like always." She replied.  
  
"And you're not the partying and drinking type." This sounded more like a statement than a question and again, she nodded.  
  
"Yep, and you can go away now."  
  
The man just chuckled, watching her as she turned her attention back to her phone. This girl was going to be so much fun. He could see it already. Clearing his throat, he sat down on the opposite side of the booth. Catmint looked up at him once again, only this time they pretty much at eye level. Well, the man was a bit taller but still.  
  
As she sat there, trying her best to ignore this new  _acquaintance_ of her’s, Catmint felt his gaze lingering on her. It almost felt like he was waiting for her to say something, or maybe he was expecting her to comment on how much he looks like the genius inventor and millionaire, Tony Stark. It was just unnerving and unnerving having someone stare at her so intently. The longer she sat there, the more she realized he was going to leave like the other men.  
  
"And you're not leaving," Catmint muttered, finally pressing the side of her phone with her thumb, the button putting the phone on sleep mode. The woman finally sat straight and sighed. "Any reason why you haven't left yet? I mean all the other guys gave up after I started ignoring them."  
  
Something about this guy's smirk was irritating her. Maybe it was because he thought he was so damn cool, looking almost like Tony Stark or maybe it was because he knew he caught her attention. Whatever it was, he wasn’t leaving and something about that arrogant smirk was irksome.


	3. Chapter 2

He was almost amazed, no surprised that the girl didn’t comment or asked whether he was Tony Stark. It surprised him even more that she wasn’t acting all giddy like nearly all the other women in the world did, well the other women who weren’t his assistant, Pepper Potts, but still. Tony sat there, watching the girl with her long ash brown hair tied in what looked like a haphazard mess of a bun.  
  
Just from her body language, the way she was looking down and her shoulders seem stiff, the girl didn’t want to be bothered. He had to admit though, he’s noticed a few guys trying to talk to her earlier. He found the way she just ignored all the attempts made by other males to engage in a conversation with her amusing. He supposed this was what made him want to take a stab at talking with her. That and she was just about the only woman in the nightclub that didn’t giggle flirtatiously at him.  
  
“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” Tony asked once she looked back at him. He didn’t mean to have that sarcastic edge to his tone but it was a natural part of him. The slightly annoyed look in the girl's face told him she had picked up on it. This was definitely a challenge. Trying to talk with her and win her over was going to be a challenge. But Iron Man never backs down from a challenge so challenge accepted.  
  
She just glared darkly at him, her gaze softening a bit as she looked him over. Her eyes then glanced at the TV hanging over the nearby bar. It could have been a coincidence that whoever was in charge of the night club's bar had the tv turned to the news that was covering his reveal of him being the metal superhero, Iron Man. But Tony kept quiet, resisting the urge to laugh and smile, though he couldn't help the little smirk that formed on his lips.  
  
"Unless you're the real deal, you do look like Tony Stark, but other than that, no, I don't know who you are." The woman said softly, she looked annoyed, her gaze looking around for her friends but they had disappeared into the crowd of people on the dance floor some time ago and only God knows when they would re-emerge to have her take them home.  
  
Tony finally allowed himself to chuckle. He rested his arms on the table between them and leaned closer. This made the girl immediately reach for her glass of water. Obviously, she was ready to throw the damn thing in his face. Predicting her next action, Tony sat straighter and held his hands in a defenseless manner, a sign that he meant no harm.  
  
"I'm gonna be honest with you, my name's Tony Stark and yes, I am the real deal," He started, "I came here because I've been in a rut with my work, then I noticed you were by all your lonesome. So I was gonna try and charm you into a one night stand but I see now that I'm really off my game tonight."  
  
Many emotions flickered on the woman's face as he said that. First surprise, then confusion, and finally...  
  
Tony allowed himself to smile at seeing the girl before him trying to wrap her mind around all that he's said. About a minute later she cracked a small smile. He watched as she quickly covered her mouth to stifle the laughter threatening to escape her throat.  
  
"This is a joke, right?" She asked.  
  
Tony's smile faltered a bit as he heard her question. He cleared his throat and stared at her.  
  
"Excuse me? A joke? W-what do you mean by a joke?" He replied, feeling both curious and maybe a tiny bit put off by her not having fallen for his "charm."  
  
The girl ran her fingers through some of the stray strands of her hair that had escaped her bun as she caught her breath in attempts to recompose herself. "You tell someone you wanna have a date with your favorite celebrity, my favorite being Tony Stark, and they send me someone who looks like Tony Stark, but isn’t him.” She laughed for a bit before breathing in again. Closing her eyes again, Tony watched her calm herself before she opened her eyes and spoke again.  
  
“I’m sure my friends paid you to come over and act like Tony Stark, but I think you’re overselling it. Just a bit,” she said, putting her finger and thumb close together as an emphasis. “But you’re pretty convincing, so A for that.”  
  
He didn’t know what to think though he definitely felt amusement. Tony chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “You really think I’m an imposter, huh?”  
  
“Yep, a damn good one because the real Tony Stark wouldn’t be hanging out in this lowbrow club and if he did, he would be showing off that Arc Reactor on his chest, probably exaggerating the story of what happened with those terrorists, leading into his birth as Iron Man.” As the girl rambled on, Tony, a big smile on his face, reached for the top buttons of his dress shirt and undid enough of the buttons to let her see the electromagnetic device that protected his heart. Her ramble was cut short as she stared at the glowing device. “Holy shit, you are the real deal…”  
  
“Yep, I’m the real deal. My name’s Tony Stark.” Tony felt highly amused by this girl. Sure she wasn’t one of his fangirls but the fact that she had guessed how he would have played one of his usual fangirls with the story of Iron Man’s birth was… well, it was impressive, to say the least.  
  
His smile turned into a frown as the girl muttered about getting out of here and slipped out of the booth. "Hey, don't I get to know your... name..." But she was already going outside. "Well, you finally did it, Stark. You scared a girl off." Tony muttered, feeling a bit annoyed. He sighed and pulled out some dollar bills to pay for his drinks and the girl's drink before slipping out of the booth himself.


	4. Chapter 3

“Are you kidding me?” She muttered at feeling her phone vibrating from her pocket. She could still hear the loud music of the night club as she fished her phone out of her pants pocket and tapped the screen to unlock it.  
  
She saw she had some texts from Sarah and Lacey. Her lips curled into a frown at opening the texts. They were nothing but pictures of her friends and some guys they had obviously met at the club. And they had taken her car, leaving her there.  
  
 _Sorry, Cat, we saw you talking with that hot dude--_  
  
Cat just set her phone to ignore all messages and notifications at this point, as she leaned against the wall. "That's great, just great, now how am I supposed to get home?"  
  
Feeling angry tears burning at her eyes, the woman wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt before inhaling deeply and closing her eyes. She willed herself to not cry, to not lose her usual composure. Catmint found herself leaning back against the wall, slowly sliding to the ground as she fought the tears of anger and frustration.  
  
Minutes seemed to pass by slowly as Catmint buried her face into her hands and knees, mentally counting back from ten in hopes of calming down. A voice spoke, almost startling her.  
  
“You okay, sweetheart?” A man’s voice made her open her eyes and look up. When she did, she saw she wasn’t alone. One of the men she had brushed off earlier was standing in front of her, almost blocking her from the view of anyone entering and exiting the club. This little realization made her feel unsettled.  
  
Catmint just breathed in again, slowly reaching into the pocket for her phone. “Uh, yeah, I, was just waiting for someone to call me back or to come pick me up,”  
  
Just why did she have to walk out of the safety of the club and out into this dark parking lot?  _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_  Her mind screamed at her.  
  
The man must have sensed her unease for he held out a hand to her while smiling. “You don’t have to wait for anyone to pick you up. I can take you home myself.” The way he said that made Cat feel even iller at ease, but she felt slightly better feeling her fingertips brush against her phone.  
  
“No thanks, like I said I already have someone coming to pick me up.” She immediately pressed the side buttons on her phone and quickly pulled it out. “I gotta take this call now.”  
  
She saw the man frown at seeing her pull her phone out. He reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could put her phone to her ear and start up a fake conversation with the phone. This action made her feel stomach do a nervous flip.  
  
“You don’t need anyone but me, sweetheart.” The man’s tone darkened and Cat tried her best to remain calm.  
  
“But I really do need to take this call.” She squeaked, but his grip on her wrist tightened and she found she couldn’t break free. Her mind tried to remember all those self-defense lessons she learned at her local gym but fear had settled itself into her subconscious and her instincts were telling her to try and run.  
  
 _So much for a night of fun._  Cat thought bitterly as she was pulled to her feet.  
  
\--  
As he walked out into the parking, pressing the button on his car keys that unlocked his Audi R8, he barely opened the door when he heard someone arguing. Well, it kinda sounded like an argument to him at first but he saw a man dragging, no, pulling an unwilling woman by her arm towards what Tony assumed was the couple’s car. But one look as the man and woman passed under one of the nearby street lamps told him that the two weren’t a couple, let alone a fighting one.  
  
“Well shit,” Tony muttered at recognizing the woman as the girl he had accidentally scared off. Usually Tony Stark would keep his nose out of other people’s business but his good conscience wouldn’t let him stand by and do nothing. Besides no man should ever treat a woman like that. At least that’s one thing his dad had told him once or twice when he was a kid.  
  
“Jarvis.” Tony started. His voice was soft and quiet as he spoke, what looked like a small cell phone earbud in his ear buzzed lightly with a male robotic voice speaking back to him.  
  
"Sir?" The A.I. said in question.  
  
"Put in an order for pizza," Tony replied, keeping his eyes on the struggle between the man and woman as he slowly but carefully made his way closer to them  
  
"Are you bringing home a lady guest, sir?" Jarvis asked.  
  
"You can say that, but this one isn't going to be one of my usual lady guests. This lady I'm going to be rescuing so have that pizza ready by the time we get there." Tony ordered.  
  
"Of course, sir," Jarvis replied.  
  
With that said and done, Tony thanked his personal AI and took the earpiece out, placing it into his pants pocket before finally heading towards where the girl was being taken.  
  
"There you are, honey!"


	5. Chapter 4

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, almost painfully as she dug her heels into the ground below in hopes of stopping the man in his tracks. Some part of her hoped she could make her body go limp and prevent the man from carrying her to his car, but that tactic failed. She couldn’t remember any of the self-defense tactics due to the fear and adrenaline going through her mind. Despite all this, that familiar voice made her potential kidnapper stop in his tracks. His fingers were still wrapped around her wrist as he looked around for whoever spoke.  
  
“And who are you supposed to be?” The man asked.  
  
Tony Stark stepped out from the darkness and out into the nearby street lamp. Somehow Cat wasn’t surprised to see him.  
  
Tony smiled, albeit in a not so friendly manner as he kept his hands in his pockets. “The name’s Tony Stark and I just want to thank you for finding my girlfriend for me.”  
  
“Girlfriend?”  
  
Cat felt her captor’s grip on her loosen as he said this. Her heart beat fast at hearing Tony’s words. Seeing the confused look on Cat’s face, Tony just winked at her before taking another step towards the two, his brown eyes looking at the potential kidnapper.  
  
The other man definitely looked shady with his eyes narrowing and glaring at Tony, as he held fast to the girl.  
  
"That's right and I just wanted to thank you for finding her for me. See, her friends called me and told me to bring her home so again, thanks for finding her. We'll be going now if you don't mind."  
  
Cat watched in surprise as the playboy billionaire reached out with one of his hands. She shivered at feeling the warmth of Tony’s fingers gently wrapping around her wrist, slowly loosening the other male’s grip on her. The woman obliged, letting Tony slowly (and cautiously) ease her closer to him. Both Tony and Catmint froze in mid-action as they heard a soft clicking sound from nearby.  
  
When the two of them looked back, they saw a gun in the hands of the man and it was aimed at both of them.  
  
 _Of course he would have a fucking gun,_  Tony thought almost sarcastically. The brown-haired man, using his free hand, slowly reached into the pocket where he had kept the small device he had used to speak to Jarvis.  
  
“Honestly, do we really need to resort to violence over a pretty girl?” Tony asked, that sarcastic edge in his tone, “I mean what are we? In high school?”  
  
He felt Cat grab onto the sleeve of his jacket as he managed to ease her to his side, his gaze watching as the man wielding the gun smirked. Boy did this guy pick the wrong night to mess with him.  
  
“Who says I’m gonna fight over the girl? I only need to kill her.”  
  
“Wait, what?” Cat blurted out in alarm at hearing him say that.  
  
 _Come on, come on,_  Tony felt around in his pocket before finally feeling his fingertips brushing against the metal of the communication device. With careful maneuvering, the inventor managed to get the device into the palm of his hand and he pressed a button on it. He knew by the light vibrating motion from the device that Jarvis became active. And knowing his personal AI, he was preparing one of his newer Suits for combat.  
  
“And why would you want to kill her? I mean she’s just a random girl, I mean there are hundreds of girls in this city alone and you chose her of all people?”  
  
Cat glared at Tony, her eyes narrowing. “What do you mean some random girl? I may not be one of those party girls you’re used to, but I’m not--”  
  
“Uh, now’s not the time to be arguing,  _Sweetie_ ,” Tony eyed the man as he said this. “I mean we’re facing a man with a gun.”  
  
“I know he’s got a gun and don’t call me,  _Sweetie_! I’m not one of your call girls.”  
  
Tony almost smiled in satisfaction at seeing the confusion on the face of the gunman. Things were going according to plan, well the plan he was making up on the fly. “I know, I know, but we are in danger. He can still shoot us and I know you want to live, right?”  
  
“Of course, I want to…” Cat stopped in mid-sentence at hearing the underlining urgency in Tony’s voice. Still holding onto Tony, she glanced at the gunman, taking note of how the gun was lowered but only slightly. The woman smiled uneasily. “Right, and here we are bickering like a married couple.”  
  
“But we are a married couple, snookums.” Tony teased.  
  
“What? No, we’re not! This is like the first time we’ve met-!”  
  
Glancing at the gunman and noticing the amused and curious look on his face as the gunman watched their banter, Tony quickly pulled Catmint to him. One arm snaked around her waist as he did so. Her body tensed at the closeness they were suddenly sharing. Before Cat protest the seemingly intimate act, Tony, keeping an eye on the man that was threatening them and his other hand in his pocket, leaned close to her.  
  
It happened in an instant, his lips grazing over her's, the very light kiss seemingly sending sparks up her spine. He felt her body give a small shudder and heard the small gasp of surprise. As the billionaire's kiss ghosted across her lips, he felt the metal of the device in his hand still in his pocket quickly forming what some would think was a gauntlet.  
  
As the metal reached his shoulder, forming the beginnings of his armor, Tony moved his lips, speaking to Cat through the kiss. Four words were spoken to her.  
  
"Get behind me, quick!"  
  
Recognition passed through her mind at hearing the order and Cat quickly did as she was told, breaking lip contact with him as he aimed his armored hand at the nearby man.


End file.
